Home For The Holidays
by DevilWriter N
Summary: The holidays aren't a good time for Lady. But with some creative thinking, Dante schemes to put on an Xmas for her she won't forget - with Vergil's reluctant help. "Suddenly, I regret my decision to partake in this affair," Vergil sourly replied. Oneshot


**A/N:** Hello everyone and Seasons Greetings!

Just a quickie post in lieu of a new chapter of one of my current longer fics in progress. I know, I'm sorry and apologize to all that are keeping up with one or more of my current stories. I assure you I've got the next installments in progress and hope to be updating very soon. :D

In the mean time, I hope you all enjoy this little holiday themed one-shot. I wondered what would happen if Dante attempted to try and spread some good 'holiday cheer' for a lonely 'Lady' at Christmas time. My only disclaimer: No, I don't know what Vergil is doing in this story. Yes, it doesn't make sense to the DMC canon. But, I have found - especially in comedic situations - I looove writing the DMC twins together. So Vergil is just sorta 'there'... just go with it. LOL

Well, however you celebrate the holiday season, I wish you all the best and have a happy new year!

Ok! Enjoy and on with the show!

Yours,

N.

* * *

**Home For The Holidays**

"Hey, check that out!" Dante pointed with childish delight as he and Lady walked along the bustling main street.

Lady turned to see what had caught Dante's attention as he abruptly stopped in front of the large window of the department store. Behind the enormous glass was the store's annual Christmas display of bright lights and animated scenery. This year's theme was 'Home For The Holidays' and the setting was that of a grand old-fashioned living room, lavishly decorated in traditional seasonal style. Among the display stood a tall Christmas tree filled with lights and brilliant decorations of all sorts as the animated family grouped around it mechanically performed their routine.

"Whoa, this is _so_ cool!" Dante marveled wide eyed in awe of the intricate display, as he stepped closer to the glass and peered in at the picturesque setting.

Lady followed Dante's lead as she shoved her hands in her coat pockets and slowly walked up to the window. She, however, remained unmoved and silent as she stared at the fictitious display. "_Teh_, that's so fake," Lady sourly replied staring into the window.

Dante, now almost pressing his nose to the glass from being transfixed, briefly looked over at Lady. "Dude, their not _real_ people," he seriously informed.

"You dork, I _know_ that," Lady sarcastically replied. "I _mean_ that's not how people are ... anymore," she added pensively. She observed the animated father mechanically tipping back and forth in a rocking chair while the pleasant faced mother slowly swiveled at the waist, perpetually offering him a plate of perfect little gingerbread men cookies. "It's actually kinda creepy," Lady wrinkled her nose.

Dante slowly turned his head to her with cynically arched brows. "Oh, and this coming from a chick who just took down a horde of demons the other day?"

"Oh, shut it." Lady rolled her eyes.

Lady continued to watch as the rocking father looked on with a fixed wide grin at his two mechanical children surrounding the tree. A jovial boy stood upright with a large red box between his outstretched hands, as his stiff arms slowly lifted and lowered the box in some gesture of animated excitement. Lady's eyes though fell to the small dark haired girl seated on her folded knees at the base of the tree. The little animated mannequin hugged tight to her cherub face a beautiful doll dressed in an exquisite rich gown like a tiny princess. Lady watched with a lamenting gaze as the little girl slowly swiveled back and forth, her eyes squinted in faux happiness.

"This is stupid," Lady scoffed and began to retract from the window.

Dante pulled his glazed eyes from the toy train circling the base of the tree and turned to her. "Oh, c'mon! What's the matter with you?" he barked. "You _have_ to admit that's pretty neat," he added as he began to walk away from the display following Lady's lead.

"Okay, it _looks_ neat," she finally agreed as the two continued down the busy sidewalk.

Dante observed Lady's rigid and unmoved demeanor. "So what's the deal?" he prodded. "You got somethin' against mannequins and wind-up toys?" he teasingly added.

Lady huffed and knew Dante wouldn't let it go. He could always sense when something was on her mind and it pissed her off. So she figured if she didn't just fill him in now, she'd have to endure his relentless inquiries.

"Look, it's just that ..., " Lady started as a brisk gust of wind blew through the crowd. She pulled the lapels of her dark wool coat closer together and took a deep breath. "It's just that this time of year, when I see that ... _all_ that ... it reminds me of a happier time."

"You happy? Who knew," Dante playfully teased.

Lady ignored him and continued her story. "The image in that window back there reminded me of when I was young. Like that little plastic girl in the display, I got a beautiful doll like that for Christmas one year. I loved that doll," she softly mused.

"Wait, you _actually_ played with dolls?" Dante raised his brows in mocking surprise.

"Very funny, Dante," Lady scoffed and continued. "Christmas was always my mother's favorite time of year. She would decorate our house like the one in that window. But I only remember a few holidays like that before ... before everything happened," she trailed off.

Dante quietly stared at her as she spoke. He furrowed his brow as he noticed her lamenting eyes wetted as she finished her last sentence, but thought better than to say anything in regards to it.

"Well, anyway," Lady sniffed and quickly recovered,"I've never celebrated Christmas since then, it's all just a big farce anyway. A happy time like that is as artificial as what's displayed in that window," she finished and suddenly seemed to pick up her pace as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

"Aw, I dunno," Dante quietly spoke up, "I think it's all what you make out of it," he added with a smirk.

"Maybe," Lady simply replied and side-glanced at him as they continued down the street.

There was a moment of silence between the duo as the sounds of the city filled the crisp winter air. "Damn," Lady suddenly spoke up. She quickly removed her left hand from her pocket, raising her wrist to check her watch. "Well, I gotta split, Dante. I need to pick up those automatics I dropped off at the shop for mods then head out to the library before they close. I need to grab those demonology books I got on hold for that new case I'm working on," she finished as she began to walk away from Dante standing on the sidewalk.

"Well Merry Christmas, Lady, since it _is_ Christmas Eve and all," Dante replied with a smile and waved to the leaving girl.

"Yeah, whatever. See ya," Lady waved dismissively back at him.

Dante lowered his waving hand as he watched her disappear up ahead in the thick of the crowd. Even though he himself had not celebrated the holiday since before he lost his mother, he could still appreciate the festiveness the season always brought. Dante was sure though there was something he could sense from Lady that told him, regardless of her outward dismissal of it all, deep inside a part of her still longed for those simpler and happy times. A devilish smirk suddenly grew across Dante's face as he turned to look back at the department store facade.

--

"Dante! What in the name of creation is that?" Vergil barked as he cautiously descended the steps from the second floor of the Devil May Cry office.

Dante huffed as he dragged and scraped along the hardwood floor behind him a large mass of bushy greenery. "Dude, check it out! It's a Christmas tree," he excitedly replied as he heaved it again across the floor. "Close the door and give me a hand with this, will ya bro?"

"You must be joking," Vergil dryly replied as he headed for the front door to close out the impeding cold.

"C'mon, grab the top and help me lift it," Dante ordered.

"And what, may I ask, are you doing with such shrubbery in this establishment?" Vergil inquired as he stepped up to the top end of the tree and bent down to get a grip on it's stalk.

"Well," Dante started before huffing again as he pulled the tree toward the back corner of the office. "See I was out with Lady this afternoon and we saw this display in the Main Street department store," he continued while working the tree to its final location with his brother's assistance. "She seemed sad that it reminded her of Christmas when she was little, before her old man flushed her life down the crapper," he finished as he paused to push some lose hair out of his eyes.

"You still haven't explained what this tree is doing here," Vergil flatly replied.

Dante placed his hands on his hips and eyed his twin sarcastically. "Isn't it obvious?" he smartly asked as Vergil stared at him blankly. "Dude, I'm gonna make Christmas for Lady!"

"Dante, sometimes bringing up things from someone's past isn't always such a positive thing to do. The reason why Lady probably doesn't celebrate Christmas is because it rekindles fond memories that, in reality, are actually painful to relive," Vergil seriously informed his twin, folding his arms in front of him.

Dante stared at his brother blankly. "You're always _so_ positive, you know that?"

Vergil sighed. "All I'm telling you is I don't know if it's such a good idea to do this."

"All Lady needs is a proper Christmas to spend with family again ... and that means with you _and_ me," Dante sincerely replied.

"Very well," Vergil sighed. "But don't say I didn't –,"

"Shut up and just help me stand this freakin' thing up," Dante grumbled. "Here, just steady the bottom while I walk it up," he ordered.

Vergil sighed and shuffled around to the base of the tree. He bent down and held the trunk steady as Dante began to shove the greenery upright.

"Shouldn't you have a vessel or base to contain this in so it stands up properly?" Vergil questioned as the tree began to rise.

"Nah, it'll be fine. I'm just gonna prop it in the corner," Dante simply replied.

As the tree almost reached it's final position, Vergil suddenly began to realize something. "Dante wait!" he ordered as he quickly stood up. But it was too late and with one final shove Dante placed the tree upright, trapping Vergil behind it in the corner.

"Uh, Vergil," Dante quietly asked. "You okay, bro?"

Dante stepped back as the tree began to quiver and shake from Vergil slowly trying to emerge from behind it. He finally slid out from being pinned in the corner by the prickly branches, spitting a few stray pine needles from his mouth. Vergil stood rigid and glared at Dante staring apprehensively back at him.

"You got a little somethin' there –," Dante began as he tried to lean in and pick a few needles lodged in his twin's hair.

"Idiot," Vergil growled and whacked away Dante's hand as he scrubbed his own hands through his hair to loosen the debris.

"Alright, time to decorate!" Dante excitedly announced as he smacked his hands together.

Vergil finished fixing his hair and readjusting his attire as Dante then stepped over to a large bag near the front door. He hoisted the bundle up and awkwardly waddled over to where the tree was now propped in the corner.

"Do I _even_ want to know what's in that satchel?" Vergil dryly inquired.

Dante flopped the large bag down and bent down, shoving his hand in it's opening. As he began rummaging around inside, Vergil eyed him with a curious raised brow in anticipation of what was to be revealed.

"Ah! Here we go," Dante happily announced as he began to pull a large bundle of wire from the bag. "Here bro. Throw these on there, will ya?" Dante asked as he shoved the wadded ball of wire at his twin.

Vergil slowly accepted the wound up mess and noticed it to be a string of multi-colored lights. He held the bundle in his hand with mild curiosity and furrowed his brow. "Where did you acquire this mess?" he asked as he examined the lights.

"Tony the bouncer down at Love Planet owed me a favor, so I asked if I could borrow some of their deco," Dante replied. "Check it out!" he excitedly added as he pulled from the bag and held up a pair of gold tassels.

"Dante, are those –," Vergil began as his eyes widened.

"Pasties," Dante simply replied. "I got a bunch of different colors."

"Dante! You're going to decorate the tree with stripper attire?" Vergil exclaimed in disbelief.

"What? They're kinda ... festive," Dante said matter-of-factly.

"Obscene. Yet, strangely I'm not surprised," Vergil suddenly realized and absently began to unravel the twisted string of lights.

As Vergil weaved the lights through the branches of the tree, Dante began applying the bright and shiny tassels. As the brother's finished their decorating, Dante then pulled from the bag the final adornment for his tree.

"A disco ball?" Vergil blandly inquired.

"_Nooo_," Dante corrected, "The star," and strapped the sparkling sphere to the top of the tree. "Let's fire it up and see what she looks like!" he anxiously added.

With that, Dante plugged the cord into the near by wall socket. The brilliant multicolored bulbs came to life and began to twinkle and chase around the tree as the metallic tassels glittered in the illumination. The little mirrors on the orbed star reflected the carnival of colors, sending a rainbow of rays around the office. Dante and Vergil stood back in front of the display in an awed silence.

"Whoa," Dante finally spoke up.

"Yes ... I suddenly feel merry, yet oddly have an urge to stuff dollar bills in it's foliage," Vergil sarcastically added.

"Whatever bro, this is awesome! Lady is sure gonna love this!" Dante retorted. "OH!" He then suddenly exclaimed, causing Vergil to slightly twitch at his outburst. "I almost forgot." Dante rummaged once more in his bag of festive supplies and removed a box with something rattling around inside.

"Cookies!" Dante happily announced, holding the box up and giving it an assertive shake.

"Cookies?" Vergil frowned.

"Yeah, they're little gingerbread dudes, just like in the window display," Dante smiled. "_Aaand_, to give 'em that homemade touch, I'm gonna toss them in the oven and heat these bad boys up," he elaborated as he headed to the kitchen.

Vergil trailed behind his brother in utter fascination as he observed Dante's attempt at _homemade_ confections. He watched as Dante scrounged around one of the cabinets and pulled out a metal baking tray.

"Ah! Perfect," Dante exclaimed as he punched open the box top and tore it off, dumping the little cookie men on to the tray.

Vergil stood with arched brows in an awed silence as he watched Dante grab the tin of cookies and toss it in the oven. He slammed the oven door shut then absently gave the temperature knob a twist.

"There, that should do," Dante confirmed to himself as he slapped his hands together then smiled innocently at Vergil.

The brothers returned to the main office quarters, illuminated in its fantastic gaudy array of hues. Vergil idly stood by and watched in a dumbfounded stupor as Dante finalized his creative decorating by putting a few silver tufted boas around the tree, adding to it's _sleazy_ glory.

"Oh, uh, there _is_ one more thing," Dante suddenly said as he adjusted the final boa.

Vergil raised a brow as Dante walked over to the bag once more. He reached in and fished out a wad of red and white.

"Verg, I need you to do me a big favor," Dante seriously looked at his other half.

From the look in his siblings eyes, Vergil already didn't like where Dante was going with this. Vergil wrinkled his brows and his natural scowl deepened. "What?" he sternly inquired.

"I need you to put this on," Dante hurriedly spoke.

"No," Vergil simply replied.

"Oh, c'mon. You don't even know what this is," Dante argued.

"It doesn't matter. No." Vergil confirmed.

"Verg, I need you to dress as Santa –," Dante pleaded.

"Absolutely ... _NO_," Vergil raised his voice and folded his arms.

"Please, bro? Not for me ... but ... for Lady?" Dante innocently begged.

Vergil stared pointedly at his brother in silence. "Why don't _you_ do it?" he then questioned.

"Cause, _I_ need to be here when she shows up. And I need _you_ to come in and surprise her as jolly 'ol Saint Nick, bearing gifts of merry ... or something like that. Isn't that how it goes?" Dante furrowed his brow and scratched his head in thought.

"The answer is simply NO," Vergil confirmed.

"Aw, c'mon bro, it's Santa!"

"And this means to me ... ?" Vergil questioned.

"It means you get to have Lady sit on your lap," Dante teased with a devilish smirk. He knew his brother had a secret crush on the girl and surely this was a tempting way to get Vergil to comply to his plan.

Vergil stood rigid and stared at his brother. The siblings exchanged silent glances for a moment then finally, Vergil held out an arm. "For Lady," he simply confirmed.

"Dude, you rock!" Dante beamed and tossed the costume to his brother.

Vergil examined the lump of material in his hands. It simply contained the traditional stocking hat and coat of the mythical gift bringer in deep red velvet trimmed with a faux white fur. He continued to eye the costume, thoroughly inspecting it like a new found specimen.

"Just put it on already!" Dante finally barked in anticipation.

"Alright!" Vergil growled and fussed as he quickly threw the red stocking cap on his head and hastily slipped the coat around his torso. As Vergil adjusted the costume, Dante rubbed his chin and watched him with a critical eye.

"Well?" Vergil sourly inquired.

Dante narrowed his eyes. "You look –,"

"I look absurd." Vergil flatly sulked.

"No, no. I was going to say you need to look more ... jolly," Dante informed.

Vergil huffed and reached up to pull off the hat.

"No, never mind. You look great!" Dante quickly assured and reached for the bag on the floor. "Here you'll need this," he added.

"What's in it?" Vergil inquired as he took the bag from his brother and tried to peer inside of it.

"Case of nine mil's and 45's. Full metal jacket, brass casings ... the good stuff," Dante replied with a smirk.

"So, '_Santa Claus'_ is going to hand out ammunitions for Christmas," Vergil sarcastically stated.

"Well, what else would Lady want as a gift?" Dante seriously replied. "Hey, can you believe that at one time Lady _actually_ played with dolls?" he suddenly added.

"I suppose. She is a female after all," Vergil realistically argued.

"Yeah, you could have fooled me," Dante chuckled. "She saw this fancy doll in the department store display and said she had one like it when she was little. That's just so weird," Dante mused, shaking his head.

"Perhaps," Vergil simply dismissed. "Now what is it I am suppose to do?" he then inquired.

"Okay! Here's the plan. I called Lady up a little earlier today and told her to meet me here tonight at the office to discuss a big job that came up. So she should be here –," Dante paused as he looked over at the old grandfather clock in the corner. " – almost any time now."

"And then ...," Vergil impatiently added.

"So when she gets here I greet her by the tree while you sail like a rocket down the second floor bannister with your bag of loot," Dante excitedly informed.

Vergil stared silently with a blank expression at his twin.

"What?" Dante began to defend. "Saint Nick always shows up from down a chimney. We don't have that, so I figured you could just slide down the bannister," He finished as he thumbed toward the staircase. "Or I guess you _could_ do your teleport thingy, if you want," Dante cynically added as he flittered his hands in a mock expression of his brother's ability.

"Suddenly I regret my decision to partake in this affair," Vergil sourly replied as he grabbed at the front of the red coat to remove it.

"Aw c'mon! Just do this, will ya? How often do we get a chance to do something _this_ thoughtful for Lady?" Dante persuaded.

"Thoughtful, hardly. Ridiculous, maybe," Vergil flatly replied as he set the bag of munitions gifts on the floor and began to unbutton the front of the coat.

Dante suddenly grabbed his brother's wrist, preventing him from preceding further with his disrobing.

"Dante, let go," Vergil sternly ordered.

"No," Dante simply replied.

"Let go," Vergil ordered again, gritting his teeth now in building frustration.

"No," Dante taunted with a smug grin.

"Dante, I –," Vergil began as he quickly gripped at the coat with his free hand, then paused as he began to frown. "Why is this sticky?" he suddenly inquired as he pulled his hand away from the tacky spot on the material.

Dante and Vergil looked down at the same time where his hand had touched the gummed fabric.

"Oh," Dante realized.

"Oh ... _what_?" Vergil irritatedly replied, questioningly eyeing his sibling.

"Uh, well this suit came off some lush hanging around the bar. He got wasted one night and made a mess of himself before the cops showed up and hauled him away. Funny, these were the only parts of the costume that survived," Dante chuckled nervously.

Vergil's jaw clenched and nostrils flared as he stared pointedly at his brother.

"So ... he managed to strip out of this suit before being carted off to the pen and Burt, the bartender, decided to keep it – just in case the dude showed back up to claim it." Dante apprehensively continued.

Vergil's lips began to tightly purse and lose color.

"Turns out the guy never came back to claim it, so I asked if I could have it," Dante confessed. "I guess I didn't clean it up quite as good as I thought I did," he finished as he scratched the back of his head.

"You." Vergil slowly began. "_You_ had me put on the attire of some filthy vagabond?" he growled.

"I _thought_ it was clean," Dante honestly replied.

"Of all the idiotic, half-witted, moronic things you come up with," Vergil snarled as he began to fidget out of the suit. "Disgusting!"

"Verg, wait, I'm sorry," Dante tried to apologize as he grabbed for his brother.

"Get off me!" Vergil barked as he shoved away Dante's grip. The force from his own shove made him step back, causing Vergil to trip on the bag laying near his feet. In his state of frustration, he lost his balance and began to tumble over the lump of material.

Dante suddenly latched on to his brother to right him. But in his fit of anger, Vergil tried to resist his twin's assistance causing Dante to tumble down on top of him. Both brothers fell backward and landed into the glowing evergreen propped in the corner. The tree quickly began to slide sideways off the wall from the force of their fall.

"The tree!" Dante exclaimed and pushed off Vergil to hurry and rescue the falling arbor. He managed to catch it before it hit the floor, but not without the string of lights coming loose and several of the glittering tassels finding their way to the floor ... and him. Dante righted the fallen timber, propping it back in its corner, only now with a slight bend to it. Just as he pulled himself out of the thick of the greenery, he noted the discarded Santa costume at his feet and caught sight of Vergil nearing the front door grabbing his silvery blue winter trench and black silk scarf.

"Vergil, wait! Where are you going?" Dante exclaimed as he motioned toward his brother.

"Out." Vergil simply growled and exited the front door, slamming it behind him causing it to rattle on its hinges.

Dante paused in mid stride just as he inhaled an ominous smell. "Cookies!" Dante yelled as he turned on his heel and ran to the kitchen. He grabbed a towel near the sink and hastily retrieved the tin of forgotten cookies from the bowels of the infernal oven.

"Dammit!" Dante exclaimed as he tossed the tin of charred and smoking cookie men on top of the stove and sighed. This wasn't how it was suppose to end up. Dante was sure his plan at creating a special Christmas for Lady was perfect. Now it was _anything_ but.

--

Dante sulked back into the main office and hung his head. Lady would be here any minute now and everything was wrong. What was he going to say? _Merry jacked up Christmas, Lady? Yeah, that seemed about appropriate._

Dante sighed as he walked over to the crooked tree. He bent down and picked up the Santa cap on the floor and solemnly pulled it down low over his head, hiding his eyebrows.

"Ho, ho, ho," Dante slowly sighed and began to readjust the loose string of lights and fallen tassels back onto the tree.

Just then the little bell above the front door jingled as it swung open. "Wow, it's getting cold out there," Lady announced as she quickly stepped into the establishment from out of the offensive temperature. "So what's this big job you mentioned that suddenly came uhh–," Lady abruptly paused in her inquiry as she looked over at the back of the room while hanging up her coat. "What the –," Lady exhaled in awe as she cautiously stepped further into the room.

"Merry ... _Christmas?_" Dante apprehensively greeted as he looked over at the stunned girl while a loose tassel fluttered from the tree and fell to the floor.

"What's going on here?" Lady managed to inquire from her dumbfounded gaze, as her mismatched eyes stared wide at the unexpected sight in front of her.

"Its a Christmas tree," Dante simply informed as he presented his work with open arms.

Lady shifted her gaze slowly from the tree to Dante. "I _know_ it's a Christmas tree," she sarcastically replied, "but ... why?" she wrinkled her brow at him.

Dante cautiously stepped up to the confused girl. "Well, ya know, I felt really bad about how that window display made you feel today," he began.

"What?" Lady narrowed her eyes questioningly.

"I just ...," Dante nervously began, "I just wanted to do something nice for you, and give you a happy Christmas like you use to have, I guess ... being it the season to spread good cheer and all, right?" he uneasily finished and winced.

Lady eyed him silently as Dante anxiously awaited a response. Suddenly, without a single word, Lady reached up as Dante tracked her movement with his eyes. She grabbed on to the red cap and pulled it off his head causing his soft white hair to muss and fuzz out around the sides. Then as Dante's eyes fell back to hers she began to smile.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" She smirked.

"So – ," Dante began with a raised brow.

"_So_ did it ever occur to you that maybe I _don't_ want to celebrate Christmas because I _don't_ want to be reminded of my past?" she questioningly eyed him as she assertively placed a hand on her hip.

Dante simply shrugged and huffed. "Well, looks like Vergil was right ... again," he sourly replied and hung his head.

"But ... ," Lady continued as she bent down to look up into Dante's fallen eyes. "What you did here ... all this is very sweet of you. Now I'll have _new_ memories of Christmas. Thank you, Dante," Lady genuinely replied with a warm smile.

"I even made cookies," Dante looked up timidly, "but I think I killed those gingerbread dudes," he added as Lady giggled and shook her head.

Suddenly the front door bell jingled again as in from the cold and beginning snowfall stepped Vergil. Dante and Lady turned to watch as Vergil brushed his shoulders free from the light dusting of snow that had collected. Dante then took note of a box he carried tucked in the crook of his arm, wrapped in ornate and fancy paper and sealed with a brilliant gold ribbon.

"The weather has turned, I'm afraid," Vergil idly announced as he stomped the slush off his boots before entering the room. He then specifically eyed Lady and with his usual tall, confident stride walked up to where the two were standing.

Vergil stopped directly in front of Lady and stared down into the unmoved girl's eyes. She studied his rigid manner and solid expression as Dante narrowed his eyes questioningly at his brother.

"Lady," Vergil gently addressed.

She squinted an eye and watched him curiously as he held the box out for her to accept. "What is this?" she apprehensively inquired.

"Open it," Vergil softly replied.

Lady raised a brow but plucked the package from his offering hands as Dante leaned in closer, curious to get a better look at the item she was about to reveal. As Lady shifted slightly to get Dante off her shoulder, she pulled the gold ribbon free letting it fall to the floor. She tore back the embossed wrapping and pulled up the lid of a white box, exposing a flap of soft pale tissue underneath.

Lady and Dante both furrowed their brows in anticipation as she discarded the wrapping and began peeling away the layer of tissue. Lady suddenly gasped as her eyes widened, while Dante's jaw dropped. There cradled in the box was the fine doll from the department store display. Lady gently scooped the figure out of the box and let the rest of the wrappings descend to the floor.

"How did ... Wh–?" Lady began to absently question as she quickly looked up at Vergil with glossed eyes while Dante stared dumbfounded at his sibling.

"A small sentiment, I trust, to help you enjoy the holiday," Vergil simply replied then shyly looked away from the girl's deep astonished gaze. Taken off guard, Vergil suddenly twitched as Lady leaned in and quickly pulled him close with a free arm for a grateful hug.

"I don't believe this," Lady whispered near his ear with closed eyes as she gave Vergil a long firm embrace.

"You're ... welcome?" Vergil awkwardly replied and nervously swallowed, as Lady remained with her arm around his shoulder while clutching the doll in her other. Vergil then turned his gaze over Lady's shoulder as a sudden smirk curled on his lips to Dante's stunned glare.

"Hey! I got a tree," Dante blurted out and folded his arms.

Lady retracted her embrace from Vergil and turned to Dante and huffed. "Come here," she chuckled, rolling her eyes and reached over giving Dante a firm embrace.

He accepted her affection with open arms, wrapping his hands around her lower back and pulled her in close.

"Dante," Lady flatly began as he nuzzled in closer to her neck.

"Uh, Dante," Lady repeated, now with more sternness to her voice as Vergil folded his arms and raised a brow at his brother.

"Dante!" Lady assertively yelled.

"What?" Dante replied as he pulled back his tight embrace. "Just spreading some holiday cheer," he added innocently.

"Well due to the harshness of the weather, it would be in your best interest if you remained here this evening," Vergil suddenly announced to Lady as he began removing his outerwear.

"Ooh!" Dante quickly exclaimed causing the other two to twitch as he hurried off to the kitchen and retrieved the tin of burnt cookie men. "We could totally chill by the tree and have some cookies," he happily offered. "I think some of these guys are still good," he added as he shook the tin and eyed the batch of charred cookies.

Vergil walked up to his brother and plucked one of the gingerbread men from the tin and held it up close to his nose. "Well, most of the extremities appear lost, however the torsos still seem edible," he announced as he discriminately examined the cookie. "Just right, I'd say, dunked in a nice cup of oolong."

Lady began to laugh heartily and shake her head at the two brothers while they stared questioningly at her out burst. "Ya know, strangely I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend Christmas," she managed to get out in between her fit. "Promise me one thing, guys," she suddenly calmed, wiping her teared eyes as she looked down at the doll in her hand. "If you two _EVER_ mention this whole thing to anyone outside this room, so help me I'll kill you _both_," she seriously announced.

Dante turned and caught Vergil's stare. Then almost in unison, the brothers spoke. "Agreed," they both confirmed with a nod of their heads.

_- Merry Christmas, everyone!_


End file.
